Aria Everts never thought of herself as a radical person. She's pint-size and soft spoken, and a favorite of her teachers in high school. Yet, there she was last year, handcuffed and arrested after participating in a sit-in at the University of Michigan's administration building to call attention to sweatshop labor and university apparel.

For her work and passion with bringing attention to global working conditions, Everts has won recent recognition: She was named one of 10 Students of the Year by the Michigan Daily this spring.

Growing up in northern Michigan, Everts had little exposure to unions and the labor movement. But when she heard about the anti-sweatshop movement when she was a teenager, Everts knew she had found her calling. She began learning about globalization, labor exploitation, and the international labor movement.

Everts figured she could change the garment industry from the inside and enrolled at the International Academy of Design and Technology in Chicago. She was wrong, she said. The school's focus was on design and merchandising and not on the labor aspect of fashion. "I was a little out of place," Everts said. "I thought there would be a little more awareness. I knew I needed to end up doing something that was going to make a difference."

After earning an associate's degree in Chicago, she transferred to U-M. By the second week of classes, Everts had discovered SOLE, Students Organizing for Labor and Economic Equality. She knew she had found the right place.

Everts has been engaged in the community through her work with labor rights. She's reached out to other campus organizations to spread the word on worker exploitation and started the Fair Tees Project, where student organizations are asked to purchase their T-shirts from a fair trade women's cooperative in Nicaragua. She's worked on building local labor solidarity, such as supporting graduate student work stoppage, and co-sponsored the film "The Motherhood Manifesto." SOLE is also looking for ways to support mothers in Ann Arbor.

Everts knows first-hand about bad jobs, although she's quick to say her experiences pale compared to sweatshop labor. She's worked cleaning cottages and in retail, streaming clothing for hours at a time, ending up with a wrist injury. "I can relate to having no power over what you do, having no control on a daily basis," Everts said.

Everts, an honors sociology major and peace and justice minor, wants the University to consider restructuring the Labor Standards and Human Resources Committee to give it more clout. She also wants the University to sign on to the Designated Supplier Program, where universities around the country are joining forces to identify fair labor manufacturers of licensed collegiate apparel.

People who know Everts from her hometown were surprised to hear about her arrest, she said. "I was a goody goody growing up, and people from my high school were a little surprised that I had broken a rule. But I was proud of it. I was pleased that I did it.